Clause 8 - Remand etc.
Extradition Bill
4:15 pm
Mr Bob Ainsworth (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Coventry North East, Labour)
Every person arrested in an extradition case has the same entitlements as those arrested for purely domestic cases to independent legal advice. The duty solicitor scheme is designed to ensure that such advice is available before the first court appearance. In extradition cases, legal aid is available before the fugitive has the opportunity to consent to extradition. As an added safeguard, the district judge is required to explain to the fugitive the effect of consenting to his extradition and the fact that consent, once given, cannot be rescinded.
It is unprecedented to require a judge to check on the nature of the legal advice that a person before him has received. The Opposition amendments would require that the judge be satisfied that the fugitive has actually received that advice. Unintentionally, the amendments would make it impossible to conclude an extradition case in which a defendant refused to speak or to take the legal advice of a lawyer. Unless the judge is satisfied that the person has received legal advice, he could not proceed under clause 8, and the whole extradition process would grind to a halt.